Situation
A governorate electricity distribution authority responsible for 1.8 million residents required a World Bank-standard institutional capability assessment across 47 indicators — governance, financial management, procurement, HR, and operations — as a precondition for an USD 85 million investment program. The timeline was ten weeks.
Complication
The authority had no current organizational chart, no documented procurement procedures, and a finance unit operating on spreadsheets with no audit trail. Access to senior management was restricted by an unrelated internal investigation. Several staff declined to participate in interviews. Document retrieval was repeatedly delayed by the authority's legal department. Two of five planned site visits required rerouting due to access constraints managed in real time.
The Critical Decision — What Almontather Rassoul Saw and Did Differently
When the legal department blocked access to procurement records for the third time, I had two options: note the limitation and score those indicators as not assessable, or find an alternative evidence pathway. I chose to reconstruct procurement practice through supplier-side interviews and physical observation at the authority's main facilities. That approach required separate authorization from the Ministry of Electricity, which I pursued directly through an existing relationship. The Ministry authorization was provided in writing within four days. The legal department's position became irrelevant. Knowing whom to call at the Ministry and having the standing to make that call is a function of the depth of relationship I have built in the Iraqi public sector over two decades.
Methodology — Why This Approach and Not Another
The dual-track evidence approach — formal documentation requests alongside structured operational observation — was not specified in the World Bank framework. I introduced it because the standard methodology assumes a level of institutional cooperation that was not present. Using observation as a primary evidence source required more rigorous documentation of what was observed, by whom, at what time, and under what conditions, to ensure the evidence met World Bank audit standards.
Resolution — Delivered by Almontather Rassoul / MRC Firm Ltd.
A three-person assessment team using dual-track evidence. A validated evidence log maintained for all 47 indicators. Proxy indicators and transparent limitations documented for restricted areas. The final report was delivered one week ahead of deadline, scored all 47 indicators, identified 14 high-priority capacity gaps, and produced a phased institutional strengthening roadmap that the World Bank subsequently incorporated into the program design document.
What Was Not Fully Resolved — and Why
Five of the 47 indicators were scored on observational evidence rather than formal documentation, disclosed transparently in the methodology section. The World Bank accepted those scores with the caveat that formal documentation should be obtained before program implementation begins.
“The dual-track evidence approach produced a credible assessment under conditions that would have caused most teams to request a timeline extension or reduce the scope. The Ministry authorization pathway Rassoul used to unblock the procurement evidence is not something any external team could have replicated.”
— Senior Operations Officer, World Bank Program Team
Consultant: Almontather Rassoul, PhD · MRC Firm Ltd. · montather-rassoul.com · linkedin.com/in/montatherrassoul